Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Just past the printing press is the castle's oldest tower—from the 11th century—and a
café terrace
offering pricey drinks with grand views (€2-4 coffee or beer, €6-8 cocktails).
Continue past the café and begin climbing the stairs up to grander and grander
views
over the lake. Reaching the terrace at the very top, you'll find the best vistas; the restaurant;
atinychapelwith3-Dfrescoesthatmakeitseemmuchbiggerthanitis(nexttothemuseum
entrance); a small shop selling iron items that are still forged the traditional way; and the
well-presented castle
museum,
which strains to make the story of Bled, the castle, and the
surrounding region of Carniola interesting. The ground floor has exhibits about geology,
prehistoricartifacts,ironworking,andtheseasonallifecycleoftheregion,whiletheupstairs
has a cool 3-D model of the surrounding mountains, smaller models illustrating the growth
of the building, more prehistory, and exhibits on the development of tourism at Lake Bled
(includingitsmanyfinevacationvillas).WhilevideoscreensandsomeEnglishinformation
are helpful, there's only so much to say.
When you're done up here, head down the stairs between the museum and restaurant
(passing WCs). Coming back down into the lower courtyard, turn left down the ramp to
find the
wine cellar
(grajska klet de Adami),
where you can pay a hefty €14-17 to bottle
and cork your own souvenir bottle of wine (you're paying for the experience more than the
wine). Slovenian wines are well-explained by one of two guys (both, coincidentally, named
Andrej)whodressasmonks,sincewinemakingwasamonasticresponsibilityintheMiddle
Ages. Both the printing press and the wine cellar may close earlier than the castle grounds
(generally at 19:00 in summer).
Before leaving the castle, climb the stairs up to the wooden
defensive gallery
for the
best views in town of the mountains east of Bled. The biggest one is called Stol (“Chair”).
In the foreground, you can see the steeple marking the town of Podhom; just to the left, the
folds in the hills hide the dramatic Vintgar Gorge (see
here
).
On your way out, look under the stairs to see if they've reopened the
herbal gallery
(a
gift shop of traditional-meets-modern herbal brandies, cosmetics, and perfumes).
Boating
Bled is the rowing center of Slovenia. Town officials even lengthened the lake a bit so it
would perfectly fit the standard two-kilometer laps, with 100 meters more for the turn (on
maps, you can see the little divot taken out of the far end). Bled hosted its fourth world
championship in August of 2011. The town has produced many Olympic medalists, who've
won gold in Sydney, silver in Athens, and bronze in London. Notice that local crew team
members,whomyou'lllikelyseerunningorrowing,arecharacters—withatraditionofwild
and colorful haircuts. This dedication to rowing adds to Bled's tranquility, since no motor-
ized boats are allowed on the lake.
